Cherie Blair used her first ever television interview on Thursday to deny Lord Melvyn Bragg's claim that her husband came close to resigning earlier this year because of family pressures.

Interviewed on Channel 4's Richard and Judy show, the prime minister's wife said: "As Tony himself said, there never was a moment when he was going to resign. I can assure you if he had done, I would have known. So I do not know where Melvyn got it from and to be honest I think he is mortified that he said it."

She then went on to describe Alastair Campbell as the "cuddly, friendly type" and said that she had learned to live with press criticism.

"Complaining about the press, I'm afraid, is like complaining about the weather. You can’t change it, you just have to learn to live with it," she said.